On the outskirts of Davis, California lies a 640-acre farm – the home of D-Q University, the only Native American university in the United States not on reservation land. It is a place of great dreams and great hopes. In September of 2010, a collaboration between the Regenerative Design Institute and D-Q University will bring together an incredible array of permaculture teachers and Native American instructors for two weeks of intensive training in permaculture design, inter-generational mentoring and cultural connections. We invite you to participate in an amazing experience of revitalizing land and people.

Course Description

For two-weeks you will be immersed in permaculture as a tool for rejuvenating landscapes and communities. The course will introduce the principles of the Great Law of Peace, originally brought to the Haudenosaunee, People of the Longhouse by the great Peacemaker. Together with hands-on training in the principles of permaculture, this course will provide training in healing our relationships to the Earth and each other. The goal is to help revitalize a site rich in possibilities for future generations of Indigenous Peoples.

So often, our dreams for our selves, our families and our world are connected to the landscape and communities where we live. Erosion of dreams and land comes when too much is taken and not enough is given back. Through this course we will practice ways of healing the land and healing our dreams, creating opportunities for our selves and others to burst forth with the abundant gifts each place and person has to offer. We hope you will come be a part of this incredible journey.

During the course, you will observe and use the same principles that make ecological systems self-sustaining and learn how to apply them to integrate your home, businesses and communities. You will learn how to apply these principles to energy systems, water supplies, healthy communities, meaningful and fulfilling work, and ecological economies. Read more and see a video about our permaculture courses on our permaculture page.

Course Details:

The course will include the following:

• Permaculture principles and ethics

• The design process strategies, methodology and techniques

• Peacemaker principles

• Traditional Environmental Knowledge

• Native American Healing Practices

• Rangeland Ecology

• Local Food Systems

• Renewable Energy

• Water Harvesting and Conservation

• Bioremediation and Grey Water Design

• Soil Building, Composting, Fertility Management

• Plant Systems, Agroforestry, Forest Management

• Community Resiliency

• Local Economic Systems

• Reading the Landscape

• Climate and Bioregional Design

• Patterns and Pattern Application

• Urban Permaculture

• Community Land Trusts

•Mapping and Land Use

•And Much More!

Participants will complete a conceptual permaculture design project and participate in a variety of hands-on activities such as outdoor observation, mapping, planting, sheet mulching, earthen construction and soil fertility building. Native American elders and instructors will bring their knowledge and skills to share with native and non-native students alike.

Course Fees

All fees include campsite accommodations and delicious organic meals.

This is an alcohol free and substance free event.

$1500 - Tuition for the 13-day program (includes course manual on DVD)

Early Payment Discounts

The following discounts are available when registration and payment

is received by Friday, August 6:

$1350 - Early Bird discount

$1200 - Partner/Spouse discount - Partners who take the course together get 20% off the second tuition

*Scholarships are available for Native American participants.

Scholarships

Scholarships are available for Native American participants.

Please contact the RDI office for more information via email or phone 415-868-9681.

Tax-deductible donations are gratefully accepted to support the scholarship fund for Native Americans.

Cancellations up to 2 weeks before the course begins will be refunded, excluding a $100 processing fee. No refunds are given after that date.

Site Details - D-Q University

D-Q University is a tribal community college that has a focus on indigenous peoples. It is the only tribal university in California and the only indigenous controlled institution of higher learning located outside a reservation. The "D" stands for the initial of the Great Peacemaker - the prophet who brought the great Law of Peace and the foundation of the Iroquois Confederacy. The "Q" stands for Quetzalcoatl - the feathered serpent god fo the Aztecs. Among its goals are the preservation and re-institutionalization of traditional Native American values, the perpetuation and exercise of Native American religion and beliefs, the establishment of a Native American Research Institute, the development of field-based educational delivery systems to Native Americans who cannot attend the school itself, and the maintenance of social and personal support systems for D-Q students and staff. The school lost its accreditation in January of 2005, and closed down amid various political problems. They have been working hard to reponen.

Penny Livingston-Stark is internationally recognized as a prominent permaculture teacher, designer, and speaker. She is the founder of: Sustainable Living Designs (SLD) - a professional permaculture design/build firm integrating landscapes and structures with water, soil, plants and energy efficiency; The Permaculture Institute of Northern California (PINC) - an educational and research organization promoting sustainable technologies and methodologies; and Regenerative Design Institute (RDI) - a non-profit education program focusing on hands-on skills development. Penny has been working professionally in the land management and development field for 25 years and has extensive experience in all phases of ecologically sound landscape design and construction as well as the use of natural non-toxic building materials. She specializes in site planning & design of resource-rich landscapes, integrating rainwater collection, edible landscaping, pond and water systems, habitat development and watershed restoration for homes, co-housing communities, businesses and diverse-yield perennial farms. Penny is currently on the board of the Solar Living Institute in Hopland, California and has served on the Redwood Empire Chapter of the Green Building Council. She co-created the Ecological Design Program and its curriculum at the San Francisco Institute of Architecture and co-founded the West Marin Grower’s Group, West Marin Farmer’s Market, and the Community Land Trust Association of Marin.

Brock Dolman

Brock Dolman is nationally recognized as a leading permaculture educator and innovative design consultant. He is a co-founder of both the Sowing Circle LLC intentional community and the widely acclaimed Occidental Arts and Ecology Center. He has been working in the fields of horticulture, biology, landscape design and installation for over 20 years. As a specialized generalist he has extensive experience in irrigation, uplands & riparian watershed management, natural building, wildlife biology, native plant botany, organic agriculture, perennial polyculture, sustainable forestry, seed saving, wildlands biodiversity preservation, school garden teacher training and school garden installation, alternative energy systems, consensus community and participatory social organizing methodologies. Brock is pragmatically active in the social and political application of permaculture prinicples for regenerative cultural transformation. By vote of the Occidental community he was given the "2001 Environmental Achievement Award" by the Occidental Chamber of Commerce. He is a co-founder of the Dutch Bill Creek Watershed Group, West County Watershed Network & the Town Hall Coalition. He acts as an advisor to the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District on riparian conservation easements and advises the Sonoma Land Trust on various restoration & education issues. He was co-founder and a leading negotiator on the historic Sonoma County Glassy-winged Sharpshooter Task Force agreement which disallows forced spraying and promotes the choice of organic control strategies. This agreement is now being used by the California Department of Agriculture as the boiler plate for communities in all other counties to be involved in participatory democracy against toxic vineyard chemicals. Brock has spoken at numerous major conferences such as Bioneers, EcoFarm & GreenPrints. He has been on national radio programs, published nationally distributed articles on permaculture and widely lectures at local universities, colleges, environmental forums, civic clubs, and public political meetings.

Jon Young

Jon Young grew up in Monmouth County, New Jersey, and was mentored from from the age of 10 as a naturalist, tracker, survivalist, and mentor in a Native American tradition by the tracker and author Tom Brown, Jr. He received his BS in Environmental Science in 1983 from Cook College, Rutgers University, with particular emphasis on natural history and anthropology and a focus on how native cultures helped their children understand and connect with the natural world. From 1984 to 1994, Jon was mentored as naturalist, tracker, cultural specialist and mentor by the African Akamba elder Ingwe. Inspired by his mentoring with Tom Brown, Jr., fueled by his studies in natural history and anthropology, and guided by the elder Ingwe, Jon has pioneered blending Native mentoring and cultural techniques from around the world with a broad array of tools for connecting with nature, and developing refined and holistic tracking skills. Jon co-founded the Wilderness Awareness School with the support of the honored elder Ingwe in 1983, and has created several popular training tape series, including being the principal author of both The Kamana Naturalist Training Program and The North American Master Shikari Sequence for CyberTracker. Out of the Wilderness Awareness School, Jon developed a system that is now called “8 Shields Cultural Mentoring”. This system tracks processes and mentoring techniques that are built into the design of one-on-one mentoring programs, family mentoring practices, community-based mentoring, and more traditional modes of education. The 8 Shields Cultural Mentoring model has now influenced well over 100 nature and eco-community programs in the United States, Canada and Europe, and is also used in his consulting for organizations, government agencies and communities worldwide. Jon has utilized the 8 Shields Cultural Mentoring model to develop and enhance community development for communities interested in working with peace-making as it relates to nature connection. This has evolved into a world-wide network of practicing communities. Jon has given over 1000 public presentations and has helped many PhD and Masters students as well as undergraduates with the completion of their degrees on topics ranging from native education to wildlife tracking. Jon is married and has six children, and truly wants his children and future grandchildren to experience the joy and benefits of living in a whole and healthy world and as part of a remarkable community of mentors! For more information on Jon Young visit www.jonyoung.org

James Stark

Co-Director - Regenerative Design Institute

James Stark, M.A., F.E.S., is the co-director of the Regenerative Design Institute (RDI). He co-founded and co-directs the Ecology of Leadership program and is a senior trainer in the 3-year, full-time Regenerative Design and Nature Awareness training program, preparing young global community leaders for the “Great Turning” of our era. James has committed his life to exploring how we – ourselves, our communities, and our species – might move as quickly as possible back into harmony with who we are and the natural world. He considers the programs at RDI a nursery for growing visions of the new era, and providing skills and tools to bring the visions to life. For decades, James dedicated himself to community visioning and organizing in West Marin – during which he co-founded the following organizations, among others: * West Marin Growers Group (WMGG), which was created to ensure food security in Marin County. WMGG grew into the 5013c, Marin Organic, which introduced the Marin Organic Food Label and hosts the West Marin Farmers Market.* Waste Free Now, which is committed to West Marin becoming waste free and hosts the innovative annual Recycle Circus including a "Stuff Exchange" for people to redistribute community resources.* KWMR "Watershed Radio", which is a licensed 501c3 community radio station in the tenth year of providing a voice for West Marin residences and heard around the world live through web casting. * CLAM - Community Land Trust Association of Marin, an affordable ecological housing land trust (5013c) created to provide affordable housing in the face of increasing gentrification. James’ years working with visioning led him to an interest in exploring the inner world and to earn a master’s degree in Spiritual Psychology from the University of Santa Monica. Like the natural systems and patterns that guide permaculture, his work now is to help others explore the inner patterns that affect how visions become reality. He believes that creating a loving, peaceful inner world provides the soil for the seeds of our world visions to grow.

Jake Swamp

Jake Swamp resides in Akwesasne with his wife Judy, has seven children, twenty three grandchildren and twelve great grandchildren. He is presently employed with the Men for Change Program in Akwesasne, which is a program through the Iethi'nisten:ha Family Violence Shelter. Jake works with men using the Haudenosaunee culture as a basis for positive change within themselves as well as within their families. For over thirty seven years, Jake was a Mohawk Sub-Chief and representative on the Grand Council of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy and has offered a wide range of experience in Indigenous, environmental and social issues both locally and nationally and internationally. Jake has held the position as a leader of the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation with responsibilities such as presiding over thanksgiving ceremonies, birth and marriage ceremonies, counseling, funeral rites, and the politics of the nation and confederacy. Jake has inspired a new generation of Mohawk leaders and teachers who are now taking the place of Elders in the communities of the Iroquois and was directly involved in the creation of the Akwesasne Freedom School - a Mohawk language immersion school of critical acclaim that has been an inspiration to many First Nation peoples in the United States and Canada. Jake has inspired hundreds of people of many races and cultures through working with a number of influential organizations. As result of his thirty seven years experience as a sub-chief of the Mohawk Nation and international ambassador, Jake has been traveling around the world, planting "Trees of Peace" in diverse places such as Israel, Australia, South America, United Nations, Morroco, Japan, Thailand, and many colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. Through his tree planting efforts, Jake has inspired the planting of over 200 million trees. Jake continues to inspire many college students of all races and backgrounds through his extensive lecturing schedule which takes him to different universities and other speaking engagements a year. Jake has met with the Dalai Lama on two occasions and was able to share each other’s vision in the promotion of global peace. Jake has appeared on the television program Five Hundred Nations, which has become educational software; Ancient Prophecies which aired in 1994 on NBC, Finite Oceans which aired on the Discovery channel in 1994; and educational display videos for the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Jake is the author of the children's book Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message (Lee & Low Books), which has been translated into five languages and was featured on the PBS television show Reading Rainbow. Other projects include The Peacemaker's Journey audiocassette produced by Parabola Magazine (1996), The U.S. Constitution & The Great Law of Peace: A Comparison (2004) and was a consultant on the film Dreamkeeper by Hallmark Entertainment (2003). Jake Swamp has and continues to work tirelessly for the communities of the Iroquois people by bridging cultural difference in the spirit of respectful dialogue and collective action in addressing environmental and social problems.

Judy Swamp

Kanerataronkwas, Judy Swamp, was born in Akwesasne Mohawk Territory in the year 1941. She was raised on Cornwall Island Ontario with her sisters and one brother. Her parents were Louis and Eva Point. She was brought up in a home that was totally traditional in a time when it was difficult to practice native culture. She met and Married Jake Swamp raising their seven children in the traditional ways of their people. Today Judy has twenty three grandchildren and twelve great grandchildren. Judy is very active in the service of her community and nation’s affairs. During the many struggles of the native people’s during the sixties to the present time Judy was always there to be depended on for her unwavering strength and support. She and her family went to Ganienkeh to support the repossession of the traditional homeland of the Mohawk people in 1974. In 1977 she went to join with the walkers on the longest walk to protest against the abrogation of Indian treaties. In 1978 she took part in the longest run. In 1979 – 1981 she and her family lived at the Raquette Point encampment surrounded by New York State police. Judy has travelled to many different countries sharing her cultural teachings with others. Countries visited, Australia, Italy, Columbia and Israel. Judy worked for a number of years for the Akwesasne Child and Family services as a traditional support worker. Now retired and continuing a busy schedule teaching her grandchildren basic knowledge about cultural ways. Judy learned many skills from her mother who was a clan mother for many years and always willing to pass it on.

Edward Willie

Edward majored in Native American Studies at UC-Berkeley. He is a teacher to both children and adults. He teaches life skills to preschoolers and basket weaving and other land-based skills to adults. He is an artist, herbalist and native ecologist currently furthering his education in permaculture. He has four grown children and is a long-time participant in native California traditional activities.

John Valenzuela

John Valenzuela is a horticulturist, consultant, and veteran permaculture educator with experience teaching and consulting a wide range of people including children, students, professionals, owners, renters, institutions, businesses, displaced sugar workers, and more. John has been a lead permaculture design course instructor at the Bullock Family Homestead in Orcas Island Washington for 10 years, and also has experience teaching in Costa Rica and throughout urban and rural California. Living in Hawai'i for 15 years, John has studied and practiced tropical permaculture and taught extensively in the Islands. His special interests are home gardens, plant propagation, rare fruit, food forests, agroforestry, ethnobotany, and native ecosystems. John is now based in his home state of California, where he maintains a small nursery and shares his passion for plants.

Lauren Dalberth

Lauren is a co-facilitator of the Four Seasons Permaculture Design Course and the Regenerative Design & Nature Awareness (RDNA) Intensive at RDI. She is a co-owner and principal designer for Weaving Earth, a permaculture design firm specializing in holistic landscape design, nature awareness and permaculture education services, and garden coaching. She and her partner, David Hage, have been working as a design team for the past 5 years. Lauren brings a deep commitment and strong background to her work. As an educator and permaculture designer, Lauren’s intention is to revive and foster the vital relationship that humans play in the creation and regeneration of healthy ecosystems, both on the land and in the community. Her work in the world is a call to humanity to once again step into our role as caretakers of the earth and do our part to create fertile, abundant and regenerative ecosystems for the future generations to enjoy. Lauren began formally working with permaculture practices 10 years ago at Pennsylvania State University where she completed her B.S. in Earth Sciences and Geography. She completed a master's-level certification in Ecological Agriculture from the New College of California and spent three years in an advanced, intensive study of Regenerative Design and Nature Awareness with the Regenerative Design Institute (RDI). Lauren has worked with both youth and adults in the environmental education field for the past 7 years, and was the gardening teacher at the Marin Waldorf School. Fueled by her dedication to sustainable food systems, she helped create the framework for Petaluma Bounty, a local community food security initiative. Lauren also co-founded and is on the steering committee of Permaculture Marin, a local non-profit. Lauren is inspired by her moments spent with the natural world and enjoys tracking, wandering, bird language, the ocean and playing music. Her deep curiosity and love of life keep her learning new things in each moment!

David Hage

David Hage graduated with a B.A. in Anthropology (with a focus in cultural anthropology) from UCLA in 1999. He first discovered Permaculture and tracking as a Peace Corps volunteer in Paraguay, where he taught sustainable agricultural practices and beekeeping to the local farmers. Upon returning to the states, he continued this line of work in a 3-year intensive program in Regenerate Design & Nature Awareness with RDI. David worked as a District Director of an educational non-profit for 4 years, and recently co-founded Weaving Earth, a permaculture design and environmental education business with his partner, Lauren Dalberth. dave@weavingearth.com. He is also a trained guide for Wilderness Rites of Passage and has been facilitating Vision Quests for the past 5 years. He strongly believes that returning rights of passage to our culture is a critical element of regenerative design. Currently, Dave is an instructor for the Regenerative Design & Nature Awareness (RDNA) Program, and the 4 Seasons Permaculture Design Course. Besides being an avid nature enthusiast and gardener, Dave has a strong passion for music and is always looking for someone to play with!

Brian King

As a child, Brian had a thirst for learning and practicing the old ways, reading journals from the mountain men of the 18th century, old books from the 1920's and 1930's on practical farm tips, old correspondence course materials in taxidermy, and other resources about the old ways. With the help of these resources and wonderful childhood mentors, he learned how how to tan hides, blacksmith, carve, scrimshaw, gunsmith, forge and foundry, machine shop, ranch, and live off the land. Much of this he accomplished in his parents suburban home and at his aunt’s farm. He worked though high school and college gunsmithing and making working replicas of objects of everyday life from the 18th century. After college he worked in the aviation, water treatment, HVAC/building automation, and controls industries designing, proto typing, programming, and teaching.

His children endured growing up on and off "the grid", in homes under a constant state of experimentation and construction, never having the luxuries or comforts that most kids have, but living with composting toilets, bath water heated by compost piles, wood heat, and solar systems that they had a hand in building. Brian's formal education includes a BA in industrial arts, MS in Agricultural Science, and California teaching credentials in industrial arts, technology, and agriculture, in addition to post graduate studies in engineering, agriculture, ecology, and child development. By profession, Brian is a tooling engineer, instrumentation specialist, and vocational educator. He taught engineering at the college level and in industry, agriculture and industrial arts in high school for over 30 years. Since, he has returned to his roots mentoring children and young adults and currently teaches agriculture, blacksmithing, primitive tools, brain tanning, rappelling, archery, primitive and modern hunting skills, soap making, scrimshaw, leadership, and more to youth and adults. In addition, with his passion for mentoring youth, he founded wilderness skills camps and Devil’s Gulch Ranch Camp so kids could have the opportunity to have experiences that were once a way of life for most.

Tamara Wilder

Tamara Wilder has been practicing, teaching & demonstrating ancient living skills since 1989, is regional outreach coordinator for the Society of Primitive Technology, and has been running hands-on school programs across Northern California since 1998. She regularly teaches at the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center, the Solar Living Institute, California School of Herbal Studies, Pt. Reyes National Seashore & the Mendocino Art Center; and demonstrates ancient living skills for museums, fairs & schools. She and her partner, Steven Edholm, sell books and educational materials through their business Paleotechnics, are authors of the book Buckskin: The Ancient Art of Braintanning, and have been featured on the History Channel in the Modern Marvels show entitled "Leather". For more info about Tamara visit www.paleotechnics.com.

Doniga Markegard

Doniga Markegard is the founder and director of www.EarthActionMentor.org, an online permaculutre mentoring collaborative. Doniga’s home is on a cattle ranch in San Gregorio, CA where she and her family raise organic, grass-fed cattle and lamb, raw milk and eggs for the community. She also owns and operates a permaculture design business, Designs by Doniga. Doniga has a diverse background in living close to the Earth with values of appreciation and care of all living things. Throughout her life, Doniga lived and worked on organic farms, attended a full-time high school immersion program in nature, tracking, bird language and wilderness survival skills at the Wilderness Awareness School in Duvall, Washington, was mentored by indigenous elders and traveled extensively to visit different cultures. Doniga has a BA in Sustainable Community Development from Prescott College, Arizona. Doniga is currently pursuing a MSc in Eco-Social Regeneration from Gaia University.

Jeanette Acosta

Jeanette Acosta, also known by her yogic name, Sat Siri Kaur, has been practicing yoga since 2000, and has been teaching the science and art of Kundalini yoga and meditation since 2005. She founded the Sacred Women's Circle because her heart now calls her to share her knowledge and grace with other women in order to nurture their inner light and awareness for the greater good of their families, our communities, the planet and the universe. Sat Siri was raised in a household visited by traditional indigenous healers who imbued in her the respect of these sacred traditions. Her experience dealing with international business people, world diplomats, heads of state, renowned artists, celebrities and politicians gives her a unique perspective on various cultures and customs. As part of Sat Siri's respect for Mother Earth, she is a certified "Permaculture" Designer and shares her wisdom of ethnobotany. She was the Blesser for the Blessing Ceremony at the 3HO Summer Solstice International Peace Prayer Day on June 19, 2010, and is also an author and composer. To find out more about Sat Siri Kaur and the Sacred Women's Circle here.